


How Was Your Day?

by Not_You



Series: A Gentleman of Negotiable Virtue [23]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Cain is a dick, M/M, Massage, Past Abuse, Possessive Behavior, charles is still pissed at you cain, erik has a new job
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-12
Updated: 2013-04-12
Packaged: 2017-12-08 07:11:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/758539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_You/pseuds/Not_You
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Erik and Charles have very different days.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Was Your Day?

Erik can't help but be nervous on his first day back at work, even if he is self-employed and not currently self-supporting. Luckily for him he has free publicity from Hellfire, and his very first customer is a sweet and embarrassed little man with back problems and a wedding ring that means something. He really had been looking for a massage, but had asked the wrong person where to get one. It doesn't help that Hellfire, despite the name, is just the kind of old townhouse that makes equally good office and bordello space. The place Erik is renting is much the same, and he can see where the confusion might come in.

"This is a straight massage place, right?" This first client asks with a nervous squint, and Erik laughs.

"Let's just say it's a place where you get what you want and no more, all right? My certificate is on the wall, and you look like you're in too much pain to be in the mood for much."

"You've got that right," he says, and strips down to his boxers so Erik can tackle the knotted mess of his lower back. It's hard going and he certainly earns his high-ish hourly rate, but it's satisfying to see the man relax, and to return the smile on his face when he sits up.

"Take a walk every day and that won't get as bad," Erik says, walking him out, "but of course, feel free to come back." 

He gets a good tip for this one and for most of the others as well, and comes home at the end of the day tired, but substantially richer. Unfortunately, his good mood evaporates the second he steps through the door.

"Damn you, I've told you not to call me!" Charles rarely raises his voice at all, and this is a roar of rage. "No! Goodbye, Cain!" He disconnects the call and hurls his phone into the couch and is softly reminding himself to be calm and take deep breaths when Erik comes in.

"Charles, are you all right?"

"Yes," he growls through gritted teeth, swiveling his chair in the quick, hard way he does when he's really pissed off. Erik waits for him to elaborate, but he's not forthcoming. Instead he just says, "I'm sorry, I'll be very bad company for the next while," and wheels himself off to the library.

Erik just takes a subdued shower, relishing only having to do it once rather than six times throughout the day and having to lotion up all the time to keep from drying out. He makes steak and mushroom soup because it's one of Charles's comfort foods, and is quietly stirring it and wondering if he ought to go to the library when Charles comes wheeling in.

"There you are. Hungry?"

"Yes. I'm so sorry, love. How was your first day?"

Erik tells him all about it over soup, and watches as Charles's muscles visibly un-tense. He doesn't ask about the phone call until after dinner, when Charles has some cake to fortify him. Charles very rarely eats his feelings, but he prefers black forest cake or coffee ice cream when he does.

"That was my stepbrother, Cain Marko. He's out of work again and wants to stay here. And of course I _could_ accommodate him, but I'm not going to." He devours half the slice, chewing vengefully.

"Well, I have to assume he deserves it, given how inhumanly helpful you are."

"Inhumanly?"

"In the divine sense, dearest."

"Well then. And yes, he does. Deserve it. The son of a bitch nearly beat me into a wheelchair before I could do it myself."

Erik's blood runs cold, because there are non-surgical scars on Charles's body that he has been wondering about. He knows they're nothing good because Charles has told him the stories of other ones. The silent scars are explained now, and it makes Erik sick. "Raven?"

"I told him I'd cut his throat in the night if he bothered her and I think he knew I meant it."

"Did you burn all the pictures or can I get a look at this shithead?"

"He might actually come by the house, so you probably should." Charles sighs, and leads the way to his office and the filing cabinet where he keeps the millstones around his neck. Erik pads after him on bare feet and watches as he digs through the bottom drawer, finally coming up with an old family photo and a more recent mug shot.

"Ugly bastard," Erik says at last.

"Well, you are biased."

"And an ex-hooker. I mean he looks cruel, and I wouldn't have taken him for any amount of money."

"Good," Charles says fiercely, turning and catching Erik's hand, pulling him down onto his lap. Erik kisses him softly, whimpering when Charles deepens it.

"Feeling possessive?" He whispers into Charles's ear when the kiss breaks.

"Yes. Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

It's Charles's turn to carry Erik off at last, strong arms propelling both of them down the hall to the bedroom. Erik just hangs on, understanding the point of the thing. Relying on the wheel doesn’t make Charles any less of a caveman than anyone else, and Erik is glad to indulge him in it. Once they've made it to the bedroom, they set the brake and Erik turns to straddle Charles, rocking against his feeling belly for an endless moment before shifting to the bed.


End file.
